Unlike most of his superhero brethren, The
Black Panther seems to have an overabundance of responsibilities. More than just a superhero, he is a statesman, warrior, king and lastly, an Avenger. The events that led to him to becoming Black Panther and the king of Wakanda are explained in Captain America: Civil War (2016) and Black Panther (2018) so if you have questions you should go watch those movies then continue to read this review.
Now that you have gotten you’ve caught up, let’s continue.
The Black Panther figure from Diamond Select Toys is incredible. No matter what toys they produce Diamond Select does excellent work. One of the lines they produce is the Marvel Select line of figures. The figures in this line are usually top notch with both looks and poseability. The figure they produced for the 2018 Black Panther film is a whole other level of greatness. I totally loved this Black Panther figure. Yes, I know I am partial to our friends over at Diamond but my praise isn’t misplaced. I would normally expect great quality from Diamond but this figure is remarkable.
Like most of the figures in the Marvel Select line, Black Panther stands approximately 7 inches tall and does have some incredible poseability. This figure has approximately 23 points of articulation. The poseable points are:
- Head
- Shoulders
- Biceps
- Elbows (Double Joint)
- Wrists
- Hips
- Thighs
- Knee (Double Joint)
- Ankles
- Feet
Black Panther also comes with an extra set of hands, molded into fists. His other hands are sculpted to emphasis his claws. Because of the pose of these hands, Black Panther cannot hold a weapon but I guess he doesn’t need to hold a weapon, technically he is the weapon.
As I stated at the beginning this figure is based on the appearance of Black Panther in his stand alone movie. Since Black Panther is a weapon this figure doesn’t come with accessories aside from his fists and a stand. The one thing that confused me was that the stand doesn’t have pegs. The Black Panther figure has holes in his heels but without pegs there is no way to affix him to the stand. I don’t know what to think about that oversight. It doesn’t have any bearing on my overall take on this figure but I had to find something negative.
That being said I can usually find some tiny issue with a figure or product but this time around I didn’t find anything more than the missing pegs. One thing that could be considered a downside is that there is no unmasked head to swap out. I am sure that there are some people out there who wanted to be able to have masked and unmasked versions but that isn’t the case with this figure. Basically, if you want a Chadwick Boseman action figure you are going to have to be patient until Diamond Select puts out another Black Panther.
The Black Panther figure really impressed me. I love how cool it looks but I wouldn’t expect less from the sculptors at Gentle Giant. The Marvel Select Black Panther figure is from Diamond Select Toys and is made for collectors 8 and up with a SRP of 24.99.The Marvel Select Black Panther is available where fine collectibles are sold.
